{"id":249,"date":"2026-03-16T11:41:54","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T11:41:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakearearadioklub.org\/?page_id=249"},"modified":"2026-10-18T08:49:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T13:49:54","slug":"recent-events","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/lakearearadioklub.org\/?page_id=249","title":{"rendered":"Recent Events"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0A list of recent events in which LARK members took part<\/strong><\/p>\n

The September 2026 LARK meeting<\/strong> was held on Thursday, September 24th at 6:30pm at Perkins Restaurant in Watertown.\u00a0 This was a special dinner meeting and included a presentation of the club’s 75th ARRL membership anniversary by Bill AC0W.\u00a0 (See the LARK History<\/a> page for details)\u00a0 ARRL representatives and others in attendance included Chris KI0D, Nick KT0W, Matt K0BBC and Kurt AE0A.\u00a0 Here is Joe N0SD accepting the 75th anniversary of LARK’s membership to the ARRL, presented by Bill AC0W:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The group:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

On September 26th the Stillwater Amateur Radio Association Tri-State Marker (SD, MN, ND) special event station, W0JH<\/a> where LARK member Todd N0IP operated CW along with Keith AC0VW.\u00a0 Todd said this is the first time this event, which has been taking place for 27 years, had a CW station.\u00a0 Photos of the Phone setup are included<\/a>, along with some interesting rock piles.\u00a0 It was a drizzly day, so you get what you get.\u00a0 Here’s a photo of the marker itself:
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Also in the mix: a few photos from the Fargo-Moorhead hamfest<\/a> that took place the same day.\u00a0 Joe N0SD, Dave N0DL and Chris KI0D attended.\u00a0 A photo of a National NCX-3, was included from the “Donation” table as a reminder of the first rig LARK member, Steve W0SB used in the 1970s.\u00a0 Here’s a shot from the hamfest as it was winding down:
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Several of us helped put up Rick K0JWI’s vertical antenna the afternoon of September 8th, 2026.\u00a0 Here are photos and videos<\/a>.\u00a0 In addition to Rick the crew consisted of Joe N0SD, Rich KE0EPY, Mike K0ATY and Dave N0DL.\u00a0 The vertical checked out fine.\u00a0 It may need a little adjusting to minimize SWR on some of the bands.\u00a0 Just as we were finishing up Dave N0DL made a CW contact with W1AW\/4 and got a 599 report.<\/p>\n

The August 2026 LARK meeting<\/strong> was held on Thursday, August 27th at 7:00pm at the Watertown Salvation Army hall<\/a>.\u00a0 Eric W0YB gave a presentation: 10 Historical Questions and their significance (PowerPoint).<\/a>\u00a0 Here are Eric’s Closing Notes Ham Radio Ten Questions<\/a> and also his Presenter Notes<\/a> , both in Word (.docx) format.<\/p>\n

The July 2026 LARK meeting<\/strong> was held on Thursday, July 30th at 7:00pm at the Watertown Salvation Army hall<\/a>.\u00a0 Agenda items included a wrap-up of the 2026 Field Day and cost to repair one of the BuddiHex antennas that was damaged during the event.\u00a0 Here is a PDF of the presentation summary<\/a><\/span> given at the meeting.<\/p>\n

LARK members participated in the annual ARRL Field Day event again this year.\u00a0 It was held on June 27th and 28th, 2026.\u00a0 Here are Photos and Videos<\/a>.\u00a0 Click on the first file at the top.\u00a0 Then, depending on the browser you are using you may need to use the left\/right arrows at the upper-right on your screen to scroll through them.<\/p>\n

The setup crew – Saturday – just prior to the start of LARK Field Day 2026:\"\"<\/p>\n

Back row, L-R: Dave N0DL, Dan KF0MYN, Steve KG0TI, Todd N0IP, Kevin KB0LCR, Eric W0YB, Mike K0ATY, Kyle KI5QLE and Rich KE0EPY.\u00a0 Front row, L-R: Dexter (no call yet), Matt K0BBC, Joe N0SD and Matthias KE9CKT.<\/p>\n

Operators and others not shown above: Grant KF0KPC, Brett KF0OVI, Denny W0DGW, Bryan KC0MYX, Daryl KJ4ORS, Wes KE0EPX, Andrew KF0KQE and Steve KB0KBJ.\u00a0 Let me know if I missed anyone.<\/p>\n

The June 2026 LARK meeting<\/strong> took place on Thursday, June 25th at 7:00pm at the Watertown Salvation <\/a>Army.\u00a0 The main topic was Field Day planning.<\/p>\n

LARK members appeared on three local radio\/internet stations to talk about Field Day 2026.<\/p>\n

On June 24th Mike Jennings K0ATY and Dave LeVasseur N0DL<\/a> were guests of Steve Jurrens’ morning show via Northeast Radio SD<\/a>.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Audio: Mike K0ATY and Dave N0DL on KXLG, Thursday June 25th, 2026<\/a>
\nAudio: Joe N0SD ok KWAT’s “What’s Up” for Thursday, June 26th, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

LARK members provided safety communications for the Prairie Lakes Hospital Hill Run\/Race\/Walk<\/a> on Saturday, June 13th.\u00a0 Mike K0ATY used the W0WTN repeater (25\/85) to coordinate the safety and report status of the participants.\u00a0 LARK members deployed around the route to report participants’ status included Dave N0DL, Eric W0YB, Joe N0SD, Todd N0IP, Kevin KB0LCR, not-yet-member Grant KF0KPC and of course Mike K0ATY.\"\"<\/p>\n

LARK members activated South Dakota as W1AW\/0<\/strong>
\n<\/span>A few LARK members including K0BBC, KI0D, N0SD, N0DL and KE0EPY activated South Dakota for the ARRL 250 WAS program<\/a>.\u00a0 South Dakota has been assigned seven-day blocks starting April 29th and October 7th, 2026.\u00a0 Here’s the list of LARK members who activated W1AW\/0 in April\/May, 2026:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Station Call<\/td>\nNum QSOs<\/td>\nQSO Band-Modes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
K0BBC<\/td>\n108<\/td>\n10M-FT8,12M-FT8,40M-SSB,20M-SSB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
KE0EPY<\/td>\n2<\/td>\n20M-SSB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
KI0D<\/td>\n33<\/td>\n80M-FT8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
N0DL<\/td>\n19<\/td>\n20M-CW<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
N0SD<\/td>\n21<\/td>\n15M-SSB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The April 2026 LARK meeting<\/strong> took place on Thursday, April 30th at 7:00pm (the new meeting start time) at the Watertown Salvation <\/a>Army.\u00a0 Field Day planning took up a big and worthwhile portion of the meeting time.\u00a0 Eric, W0YB gave an excellent presentation (PowerPoint .pptx)<\/a><\/strong> on Parks On The Air (POTA).<\/p>\n

SkyWarn Weather Spotter Training<\/a>, Codington County Extension Center, Wednesday, April 8th<\/strong> Several LARK members attended the Skywarn Spotter Training Class provided by Megan Mulford, Meteorologist from the National Weather Service Aberdeen office.\u00a0 The class covered many topics including weather safety, thunderstorm development, identifying different storm features, and how to report to the National Weather Service.\u00a0 LARK member and other ham radio attendees included Todd N0IP, Dave N0DL, Kyle KI5QLE, Joe N0SD, Chuck KB0VXD, Lynn KD0HWM, Denny W0DGW, Paul N0PTW, Matt K0BBC and Chad N0WMM.<\/p>\n

WPX \u201cOpen Shack\u201d at Joe,\u00a0N0SD<\/a>\u2018s QTH, Saturday March 28th <\/strong>Members and friends of the Lake Area Radio Klub participated in the CQ WPX contest as a training exercise for Field Day as well an opportunity to test some of the equipment to be used. The gathering was hosted at N0SD\u2019s QTH utilizing his antennas along with LARK and his equipment. The station was configured with four transceivers and 4 laptop computers for logging utilizing a common database and N3FJP software. Attendees included: Joe N0SD, Dan KF0MYN, Dave N0DL, Mike K0ATY, Eric W0YB, Rich KE0EPY, Chad N0WMM, Steve KG0TI, Kyle KI5QLE, Jim W0MJY, and Matthias KE9CKT.<\/p>\n

A couple of N0SD\u2019s filters failed during the operation (better now than Field Day) and several other bugs were worked out of the configuration. This did not prevent the completion of more than 300 QSOs. More importantly ergonomic considerations were evaluated for station configuration, acoustics, and other improvements.\u00a0 Members are expecting to hold at least one additional equipment test before Field Day and evaluate system and configuration issues.<\/p>\n

The March 2026 LARK meeting<\/strong> was held on Thursday, March 26th at 7:30pm at the Watertown Salvation Army<\/a>,\u00a0 We changed the regular meeting time a half-hour earlier, to 7pm<\/strong>.\u00a0 The LARK calendar has been updated to reflect this change.<\/p>\n

The February 2026 LARK meeting<\/strong> took place on Thursday, February 26th at 7:30pm.\u00a0 \u00a0Joe, N0SD appointed Dave N0DL as Field Day Chairperson; Rich KE0EPY as Net Manager, KF0QHO Eric as Program Chairperson, K0ATY Mike as Run\/Race Manager.<\/p>\n

The January 2026 LARK meeting<\/strong>\u00a0took place on Thursday, January 29th at 7:30pm.\u00a0 \u00a0Gary \u201cJoe\u201d Mayfield, N0SD was elected Club President.\u00a0 Dave LeVasseur, N0DL was re-elected as club Vice President (after losing my shot at president to Joe \u2013 by just one vote.\u00a0 Now, if I had voted for myself\u2026 :))\u00a0 Denny Warrick, W0DGW was re-elected as Secretary \/ Treasurer and Editor of the club newsletter.\u00a0 Mike Jennings, K0ATY was elected to the open position on the Garden City Repeater board.<\/p>\n

The December 2025 LARK meeting<\/strong>\u00a0was held on December 18th, 2025 in the community room at the Watertown Police Department.<\/p>\n

The November 2025 LARK meeting<\/strong>\u00a0was a \u201cdinner meeting\u201d held on November 20th Pizza Ranch in their meeting room.<\/p>\n

Saturday, October 4th, 2025<\/strong>:\u00a0Simulated Emergency Test (SET)<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 COMPLETED.\u00a0 We set up a cross-band repeater system to temporarily replace county Emergency Communications\u2019 repeater \u2013 just to make sure we can provide this service if\/when needed.\u00a0\u00a0Photos from the event<\/a>.<\/p>\n

October 11th, 2025:<\/strong> Autumn Antenna Party.\u00a0 We gathered as a team (KE0HMS, N0SD, N0DL and KF0QHO) to raise one end of Rich, KE0EPY\u2019s dipole up a tree from about 6\u2032 off the ground to around 30\u2032.\u00a0 We met again on October 18th (after breakfast at HyVee) to raise the other end.\u00a0 Here are photos<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sunday, October 12th, 2025:<\/strong> Amateur Radio Exam Session.\u00a0 It was held at the Watertown Regional Library<\/a>.\u00a0 We had two applicants get what they came for: one new licensee (pending the end of US government shutdown) and one upgrade from Technician to General.\u00a0 See\u00a0hamstudy.org<\/a>\u00a0for study materials.<\/p>\n

Monday, October 13th, 2025<\/strong>: KB0LCR\u2019s 70cm antenna and feedline and installation.\u00a0 A number of us provided ground support\/Assistance for Kevin, KB0LCR with a dual-band antenna at around 175ft up a tower owned and installed by KF0UUH.\u00a0 \u00a0The DMR repeater has yet to be installed but preliminary checks with a 70cm HT connected to the bottom-side feedline shows good range to at least 20miles to the east using only a few watts.\u00a0 The final repeater will run 25W.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0A list of recent events in which LARK members took part The September 2026 LARK meeting was held on Thursday, September 24th at 6:30pm at Perkins Restaurant in Watertown.\u00a0 This was a special dinner meeting and included a presentation of the club’s 75th ARRL membership anniversary by Bill AC0W.\u00a0 (See the LARK History page for … Continue reading Recent Events<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","_wpcom_ai_launchpad_about_page":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_gallery_page":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_contact_page":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_events_page":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_video_page":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_portfolio_piece":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-249","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakearearadioklub.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakearearadioklub.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakearearadioklub.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakearearadioklub.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakearearadioklub.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=249"}],"version-history":[{"count":67,"href":"https:\/\/lakearearadioklub.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":807,"href":"https:\/\/lakearearadioklub.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/249\/revisions\/807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakearearadioklub.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}